Come to San Telmo for some of the best and most historic grill houses, cafes, late-night eateries and tango clubs in Buenos Aires. Whether its Bar Britanico at the corner of historic Parque Lezama or the ever popular Desnivel steakhouse, visitors are sure to leave with their stomachs full and their memories even fuller.

Plaza Dorrego Bar
Defensa 1098 (@ Humberto Primo); Tel. +(011.54.11) 4361-0141
$$. This is the one café in San Telmo you can't miss. Centrally located on the northeast corner of San Telmo's historic Plaza Dorrego, this popular-with-the-tourists café-bar is one of two cafes on the Plaza where you can sit, relax and people watch to your heart's content...More information about Plaza Dorrego Bar

Cancun Mexican
Defensa 680 (@ Chile), San Telmo; Tel. +(011.54.11) 4343.9444 4343.7447
$$$. As tough as it is to find decent Mexican food here in Buenos Aires, Cancun does a good job of serving up home-style dishes in a tranquilo family atmosphere. Real tortillas accompanied by enchiladas, fajitas, quesadillas and black beans...More information about Cancun Mexican

Todo Mundo!
Pasaje Anselmo Aieta 1095 (@ Humberto Primo); Tel. +(011.54.11) 4362.2354
$$-$$$. For all you live music lovers who have had enough of "rock nacional," check out Todo Mundo! on Plaza Dorrego. They feature Latin, Cuban, and Flamenco, along with some jazz and blues, seven nights a week starting at 10pm.More information about Todo Mundo!

Albor
Carlos Calvo 819 (@Piedras); Tel. (011.54.11) 4300.4449
$-$$. This intimate San Telmo eatery is easy to miss, but its a good place for a low key cheap meal. It has ten or so tables scattered around a small black and white checkered floor. The specials are written up on a chalkboard by the bar, and in one corner there’s a small TV where the older clientele watch the news and soccer.More information about Albor

RIP - Bar Britanico - RIP
Brazil 399 @ Defensa, San Telmo, Buenos Aires; Tel. (011.54.11) 4300-6894
$. Straight out of a movie - several actually including The Motorcycle Diaries and the up and coming life story of Diego Maradona, this great old-school café bar right on the corner of Parque Lezama never closes and never disappoints.More information about RIP - Bar Britanico - RIP

Bar Guevara
Humberto Primo 463 (@ Defensa)
$-$$. There is something unexplainable about Bar Guevara that fills its two small floors with young bohemian types week in week out. Its barely decorated walls and loosely thrown together furniture give it the air of being some sort of converted garage and it may be just this effect that has made it such a huge success...More information about Bar Guevara

Brasserie Petanque
Defensa 596 (@ Mexico); Tel. +(011.54.11) 4342-7930
$$$-$$$$. Paris meets Buenos Aires at this authentic Parisian brasserie located directly in between Plaza de Mayo and San Telmo. Porteños from the central business district lunch with an assortment of hungry post-antiquing tourists while Parisians themselves even deem Petanque a worthy enough spot to spend an evening...More information about Brasserie Petanque

Comedor Nikkai
Ave. Independencia 732, (@ Chacabucco) ; Tel. +(011.54.11).4300.1182/9538
$$$$. This is the place for quality, fresh sushi in Buenos Aires. Here is where you'll find people who know good sushi and don't mind diving down and out into a lesser-known part of San Telmo to get it. Thick slices of salmon sashimi is balanced with delicate rolls of salmon and avocado in a platter to share.More information about Comedor Nikkai

Flor de Lino
San Lorenzo 356 (@ Defensa); Tel. +(011.54.11) 4362-0128
$$-$$$. From the large glasses fresh squeezed juices to the palette pleasing tofu pizza with olives, Flor de Lino is a vegetarians delight – and smack dab in the middle of the parilla-happy San Telmo neighborhood...More information about Flor de Lino

La Farmacia
Bolivar 898 ; Tel. +(011.54.11) 4300.6151
$$-$$$. Cool old world pharmacy redone into a nuevo-chic restaurant bar with a styling corner location, offers a relaxed ambience where you can eat or drink to your hearts content. Colorful local art hangs from blood-red walls along with rooftop garden dinning area make this place a winner. More information about La Farmacia

Pappa Deus
Humberto Primero 499 (@Bolivar); Tel. (00.54.11) 4307.1751
$$$. The back room of Pappa Deus looks like the living room we all wish we owned, well, at least for those of us who wish we were big game hunters with elephant guns and pith hats.More information about Pappa Deus

Resturant Lezama
Brasil 359 (@ Defensa)
$$-$$$. Located across the street from its namesake Parque Lezama and just up from the Russian Orthodox Church in the southern end of San Telmo. For more than 75 years this family style neighborhood spot has been serving parksiders good food and great parrilla. More information about Resturant Lezama

Territorio
Estados Unidos 501 (@ Bolivar); Tel. +(011.54.11) 4300.9756
$$-$$$. A chill place for affordable gourmet and hushed conversation, Territorio is something of an anomaly in Buenos Aires. No parilla, no pizza, and no Quilmes. More information about Territorio

Rey Castro
Peru 342 (@ Av. Belgrano); Tel. +(011.54.11) 4342.9998
$$$. Sweet Cuban cocktails and shoulder-rolling rhythms rock this lively downtown retreat. Well-healed local professionals come to pack out Rey Castro’s lunchtime tables and sip two-for-one happy hour drinks after work, while sampling some of its refreshingly Caribbean menu. The bare-brick walls adorned with old black and white photographs and old-fashioned streetlamp fixtures give it a vintage Cuban air, while the music and mojitos keep the crowds young and the atmosphere energetic...More information about Rey Castro

Pride Cafe
Balcarce 869 (@ Pasaje Giuffra); Tel. +(011.54.11) 4300.6435
$$-$$$. Just two blocks away from the busy intersection of Paseo Colón and Independéncia, hidden just one block off Defensa sits Pride Cafe, a cornerstone of the small but rapidly growing gay community in Buenos Aires. Self described as “Queer coffee, Home-made cakes, Pastry and Special Sandwiches...More information about Pride Cafe

Pedro Telmo
Bolivar 962 (@ Carlos Calvo); Tel. +(011.54.11) 4362.3694
$$-$$$. This traditional no-frills family run and owned pizzeria is a great place to refuel before heading out for another round of antiquing. Located just off the the main drag of Defensa, on Bolivar between Estados Unidos and Carlos Calvo, Pedro Telmo is marked by the lone Quilmes sign sturdily hung above the entrance. More information about Pedro Telmo

Nacional
302 Estados Unidos (@ Balcarce); Tel. +(011.54.11) 4361-5539
$$$-$$$$. Nacional sits amidst the many traditional cafes in San Telmo, on a quiet corner just one block from Defensa and the heart of the Sunday artisan fair. One of the funkier resto-bars that has sprung up in San Telmo, it gives the younger hip crowd an alternative to tango and bowtie-clad wait staff...More information about Nacional

La Maja
Avenida San Juan 548 (@ Bolívar)
$$. Just off the main drag in San Telmo are several semi-clandestino alternative, less-gringo-visited drinking and eating options, like La Maja, just half a block down from popular neighborhood eatery Café San Juan, originally named for Spanish painter Francisco Goya’s nude and then clothed paintings of his reputed secret lover, also the eye of Napoleon Bonaparte, or so the story goes per the friendly bartender this particular night...More information about La Maja

Gilbraltar
Peru 895 (@ Estados Unidos); Tel. +(011.54.11) 4362-5310
$$-$$$. If it werent for the ironic signs plastered about this dimly lit English pub, you might be forgiven for thinking you’d stumbled into Sherlock Holmes’ living room. The dark red walls are covered with vintage maps, and in a loft above the bar the owners have recreated an English study, complete with tattered old books and antique lamps.More information about Gilbraltar

El Desnivel
Defensa 855; Tel. (011.54.11) 4300.9081
$-$$. Excellent and classic Buenos Aires parrilla or steakhouse just down from Plaza Dorego, Des Nivel is a must-visit for any meat lover. Popular with foreigners (now more than ever) and locals alike, queue up next to the open-air grill just inside the doorwayMore information about El Desnivel

Don Ernesto
Carlos Calvo 375 (@Defensa) ; Tel. 00.54.11.4307.6927
$$-$$$. Walking into Don Ernesto is a little like stepping into the 1920’s, minus, of course, the big band, white tuxedos and outlandish flapper dresses. Dark grained antique wood paneling is the dominant motif, dominated by a wide oak staircase that leads up to a second level loft area. More information about Don Ernesto

Café San Juan
450 Avenida San Juan (@ Defensa); Tel. +(011.54.11) 4300-1112
$$$$-$$$$$. This neighborhood gem risks going unnoticed hidden under a green and white striped awning on the busy Avenida San Juan just one block from Plaza Dorrego - but the mother-son duo need not worry. There is rarely a seat to spare; whether it be for a lunch of light, unique, and original tapas or a delicious dinner of salmon with sautéed vegetables...More information about Café San Juan

Burzako
345 Mexico (@ Defensa); Tel. +(011.54.11) 4334-0721
$$$$-$$$$$. Basque-Argentine is the flavor at this elegant and inviting restaurant where power lunches, family meals, and romantic evenings all take place under the same rustic roof. The white painted brick walls adorned with local contemporary artwork, high ceilings accented by golden grapevine borders, and the 1950’s black and white checked floors give the restaurants room a feeling of funky elegance...More information about Burzako

Bar Seddon
Defensa 695, San Telmo; Tel. +(011.54.11) 4342.3700
$$. Bar Seddon is the perfect San Telmo establishment. Old, full of character, and run-down in a charming sort of way, it's the type of place where you break up with someone you used to love, or come alone with a good book and a pack of smokes.More information about Bar Seddon

Azapar
Belgrano 350 (@ 5 de Julio); Tel. +(011.54.11) 4343.7601
$-$$. Though there is no dividing wall, Azapar is really two separate rooms. On the left, retro-chic, multi-colored, circular lampshades hang from the low ceiling over each table, creating a relaxed intimacy.More information about Azapar

Abuela Pan
707 Bolivar (@ Chile); Tel. +(011.54.11) 4361-4936
$-$$. In a city of carnivores it’s sometimes a challenge to find the greener side of Argentine cuisine. Look no further. Tucked away on a quiet corner in the neighborhood of San Telmo, Abuela Pan not only bakes its own fresh multi grain breads daily but it’s also been serving up healthy vegetarian dishes using all natural organic ingredients to resident vegetarians since 1998...More information about Abuela Pan

Abril
Balcarce 722 (@ Chile); Tel. +(011.54.11) 4342.8000
$$$-$$$$. Abril is the kind of restaurant that has the chef’s name on the awning, and “green tea noodles with fried small squids and mussels with soft crustaceous cream” on the menu, but it manages to pull it off without seeming the least bit obnoxious or highbrow...More information about Abril